Brigit Adongo
Racism has marred sport for a long time now, and even the best in their field haven’t been spared by racist chanters for either failing to deliver, or for delivering.
In July, after the Euro 2020 final where Italy beat England through penalties at home to lift the coveted trophy, some of England’s players (black) were subjected to racial abuses on and off social media for failing to convert penalties.
Though not among those affected, England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin recently came out to rebuke the behavior and called for equality in an open letter on Everton’s official programme. “It’s those sorts of things happening over and over that sometimes makes you feel you are banging your head against a brick wall…” Calvert-Lewin lamented.
The 24-year old showed his confusion at such happenings after the widespread awareness and actions to end racism. “You take the knee all season… it all raises awareness – then three England players are targeted for racial abuse…they didn’t miss because of the color of their skin,” read part of his letter.
The Everton striker said taking a penalty shows courage, while bashing someone for missing, especially when you undermine their skin colour, was cowardice. “It requires courage to take a penalty…The people responsible for the messages, on the other hand, are cowards…,” he wrote.
After stating the negative effects such actions have on those targeted, Calvert-Lewin went ahead to call for a change, despite admitting that racism is “deeply rooted” and one can only change if they want to. He lauded the support Rashford and Saka got after the incident, and hoped that he’d positively impact those looking up to him.
Dominic appreciated today’s knowledge, saying it would teach children what’s right and end such vices. “You can be anything you want…regardless of how you look or the color of your skin.” He concluded with encouragement, citing how many successful black people there are.
